MMA News
UFC Vegas 38 weigh-in results: Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker on point, but three fighters miss weight
Adam D Martin - October 1, 2021
The official weigh-ins for UFC Vegas 38 took place on Friday in Las Vegas, and 23 of the 26 fighters scheduled to compete have made weight. In the main event of the evening, Thiago Santos fights Johnny Walker in a battle of top-10 ranked light heavyweight contenders. Santos has lost his last three fights in a row but everyone recognizes him as one of the best fighters in the world at 205lbs. As for Walker, he is coming off of a knockout win over Ryan Spann in his last fight. Both fighters successfully made weight for Saturday, with Santos at 206lbs and Walker at 204.5lbs.
Dan Hooker confirms UFC gave him extra money to fight Islam Makhachev at UFC 267
Adam D Martin - October 1, 2021
UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker confirmed that the UFC gave him extra money in order to fight Islam Makhachev at UFC 267. Hooker will step into the Octagon on short notice later this month when he faces off against Makhachev at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi. Hooker just fought last weekend at UFC 266 and he beat Nasrat Haqparast via decision, and he was expected to go home to New Zealand following the fight. But with the opportunity to face a top-five opponent in Makhachev out there, Hooker has made the decision to stay away from home and take the fight. It’s a decision that isn’t an easy one for Hooker, as he now has no idea when he will go back to New Zealand and see his family. But for the extra money that the UFC offered him to take the fight with Makhachev, Hooker believes that it was worth taking the fight.
Michael Chandler shares prediction for Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier
Adam D Martin - October 1, 2021
Top contender Michael Chandler shared his prediction for the upcoming UFC lightweight title bout between Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier. Chandler knows a thing-or-two about Oliveira, considering he just fought him for the vacant lightweight belt back at UFC 262 in May. Although Chandler ended up losing via second-round TKO, he was doing well in the first round of the fight and showed that he’s one of the sport’s best lightweights despite the defeat. For his next fight, Chandler will step into the Octagon next month when he faces off with fellow top contender Justin Gaethje. The winner of Chandler vs. Gaethje could very well be in line for a title shot at 155lbs.
Jalin Turner says submission win over Uros Medic was 'perfect execution,' says his UFC 266 foe was 'nervous'
Cole Shelton - October 1, 2021
Jalin Turner called a first-round stoppage over Uros Medic at UFC 266 and he did just that. In the lead-up to his fight on the stacked pay-per-view card, Turner made his return against the undefeated Medic and many thought Turner would get finished early. Yet, it was the other way around as Turner submitted Medic in the first and he said he’s still not surprised people continue to doubt him.
Vitor Belfort fires back at critics of Evander Holyfield boxing match
Adam D Martin - October 1, 2021
Former UFC champion Vitor Belfort fired back at critics of the recent Evander Holyfield boxing match for Triller Fight Club. Belfort fought Holyfield last month in a controversial professional boxing match for Triller Fight Club. The controversy was two-fold. One, because Holyfield took the fight on short notice for Oscar De La Hoya, and two because Holyfield is 58 years old. Not shockingly, Holyfield was finished in the first round with strikes. There have been plenty of critics towards Belfort and Triller Fight Club since then, and now Belfort is firing back at them.
Islam Makhachev heavily favored to defeat Dan Hooker at UFC 267
Adam D Martin - October 1, 2021
Top-ranked UFC lightweight contender Islam Makhachev is heavily favored to defeat divisional rival Dan Hooker at UFC 267 later this month. Makhachev was supposed to fight Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 267, but RDA was forced to pull out of the fight with an injury. In his place steps Hooker, who is fresh off of a decision win over Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 266 last weekend. With the UFC in a tough situation in regards to finding a suitable opponent to fight Makhachev, Hooker stepped up on short notice. The two lightweights will now meet later this month at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi.
Alex Oliveira tells opponent Niko Price to 'get a vasectomy'
Andrew Whitelaw - October 1, 2021
Alex ‘Cowboy’ Oliveira is a father of 11 and he just told Niko Price, soon-to-be father of 6 to ‘get a vasectomy.’ The pair will go head to head at UFC Fight Night 192 with both men looking to return to winning ways.
OK's title win vs Christian Lee upheld by ONE Championship competition committee
Andrew Whitelaw - September 30, 2021
Ok Rae Yoon can rest easy – he’ll remain the newly-crowned ONE Championship lightweight title holder after his win over Christian Lee was upheld. The Korean scored a unanimous decision win against Christian Lee at ONE Championship: ‘Revolution’ last weekend, but the result was called into question. Immediately after the fight, Lee said the decision was ‘bulls**’ and asked for it to be reviewed.
Vicente Luque says he's earned title showdown with Kamaru Usman
Andrew Whitelaw - September 30, 2021
Sean O’Malley slated to return at UFC 269 against Raulian Paiva
Christopher Taylor - September 30, 2021
Sean O’Malley will return to the Octagon at UFC 269 for a bantamweight bout with fellow prospect Raulian Paiva. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto who shared the following information on Twitter.
Kevin Holland takes a swipe at Luke Rockhold, claims the former UFC champ is only returning because he's "broke as a f*ck"
Christopher Taylor - September 30, 2021
Kevin Holland claims that the reason former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is returning to the Octagon is because he’s flat broke. Holland (21-7 MMA) is set to return to action this weekend at UFC Vegas 38 when he squares off with the #14 ranked Kyle Daukaus.
Joe Rogan says Nick Diaz 'didn’t do that bad' at UFC 266 but believes he needed more time to prepare
Cole Shelton - September 30, 2021
Joe Rogan was impressed with Nick Diaz’s performance at UFC 266 against Robbie Lawler despite the long layoff. Diaz made his return to the Octagon for the first time since 2016 in a rematch against Lawler. In the lead-up to the fight, many didn’t know how Diaz would look, yet for Rogan, he said the Stockton native did better than he expected, but still lost but third-round TKO. However, the UFC commentator doesn’t think Diaz had enough time to properly prepare for his fight.
Dan Hooker steps up on short notice, faces Islam Makhachev at UFC 267
Adam Martin - September 30, 2021
UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker has decided to step up on short notice, and he will face Islam Makhachev at UFC 267 next month. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to break the news that Hooker is fighting Makhachev at UFC 267. That’s according to UFC president Dana White, who confirmed the fight is set.
Deiveson Figueiredo reveals he will train with Henry Cejudo ahead of Brandon Moreno trilogy
Adam Martin - September 30, 2021
Deiveson Figueiredo revealed that he will train with Henry Cejudo ahead of his trilogy fight against UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno. Figueiredo takes on Moreno for the third time at UFC 269 in December with the 125lbs title on the line. Following a majority draw at UFC 256 last December, Figueiredo lost his belt when Moreno submitted him at UFC 263 back in June. Following the rematch, it was expected that Moreno was going to fight someone else, but the UFC eventually decided on the trilogy with Figueiredo after Alexandre Pantoja was not cleared to fight Moreno.
Lauren Murphy explains why she nearly pulled out of UFC 266 title fight with Valentina Shevchenko
Adam Martin - September 30, 2021
Lauren Murphy explained why she nearly pulled out of her UFC 266 title fight with UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. Murphy fought Shevchenko in the co-main event of this past Saturday’s UFC 266 PPV card, and she ended up losing the fight via fourth-round TKO. It was not a good performance by Murphy, but she says one of the reasons for that is because she didn’t have her head coach, Alex Cisne, in her corner for the fight. Her coach tested positive for COVID-19 just days before the fight and Murphy was forced to fight Shevchenko without her coach.
Daniel Cormier comes to the defense of Joe Rogan following recent criticism
Adam D Martin - September 30, 2021
UFC analyst Daniel Cormier came to the defense of his broadcasting partner Joe Rogan following recent criticism directed towards him. Rogan has been one of the UFC’s stalwarts for over 20 years during its pay-per-view broadcasts, but he was absent from UFC 266 this past weekend as he already had a hunting trip planned for the same date. With Rogan off the card, Cormier worked inside the commentary booth with Paul Felder and Jon Anik, and it turned out to be a very good broadcast team as fans and media praised all three for their work inside the booth.
Joe Solecki says Jared Gordon fight has the potential to be the 'Fight of the Night'
Cole Shelton - September 30, 2021
Joe Solecki didn’t think Jared Gordon would be his next opponent but he is eager for the challenge he presents. Solecki is 3-0 in the UFC and coming off a decision win over Jim Miller. After the win, many thought he would be near the rankings but for Solecki, he says he’s in no rush and will fight anyone the UFC offers him and that continues with Gordon at UFC Vegas 38.
Kevin Holland reveals he “almost didn’t make it” to UFC Vegas 38 due to visa issues
Adam D Martin - September 30, 2021
UFC middleweight contender Kevin Holland revealed that he “almost didn’t make it” to this weekend’s UFC Vegas 38 card due to visa issues. Holland returns to the Octagon this Saturday night when he takes on Kyle Daukaus in a middleweight bout. Holland is coming off of back-to-back losses to Marvin Vettori and Derek Brunson where his lack of wrestling got him beat. Following those losses, Holland took several months off to improve his game. As part of his time off, Holland traveled to California to train with Daniel Cormier. But the Dallas native felt that the trip was too far, so he wanted to train his wrestling closer to home. That’s when his management group enlisted the help of former UFC welterweight champion Johnny Hendricks to train Holland in his wrestling, and the two have spent the last several months working on his grappling.
Dan Hooker on a potential scrap with Nate Diaz: “It’s definitely not a difficult fight for him to get”
Adam D Martin - September 30, 2021
UFC lightweight Dan Hooker opened up on a potential scrap with Nate Diaz, saying “it’s definitely not a difficult fight for him to get.” Hooker is coming off of a unanimous decision win over Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 266 this past Saturday night in Las Vegas, a win that snapped a two-fight losing skid for “The Hangman.” Now that Hooker is back in the win column, he knows that he can start calling out higher-ranked fighters and bigger-name fighters, and it doesn’t get much bigger than Diaz. Following his big win over Haqparast last weekend, Hooker said that he’s open to fighting Diaz and that all the Stockton native has to do is simply request the fight.